In light of the rising consumer demand for low fat, low calorie products, food scientists are faced with a challenging task of producing a spread which has the texture, spreadability, and organoleptic properties similar to margarine but which contains less than 80% fat typically present in margarine. It is particularly difficult to attain the spreadability, body, texture, and taste of margarine in spreads containing 5% or less fat, or in spreads containing practically no fat.
Cheese spreads containing fat at low levels have been disclosed. For instance, Baker discloses a method of preparing a low fat cream cheese; the method includes the steps of admixing milk, a fat-containing carrier and a stabilizer and heating the mixture to a temperature in the range of from 150.degree. to 200.degree. F., admixing dry cottage cheese curd, and homogenizing the curd mixture at pressures in the range 500 to 5000 psi. Cottage cheese curd comprises 70 to 85% of the product. The fat content of the product is from about 0.7% to less than about 2%. The resulting low fat cream cheese type product resembles cream cheese in appearance, texture, and taste.
With respect to margarine-like products, a number of references disclose formulations, which although they contain lower levels of fat than margarine, still include more than 5% fat. Great Britain Patent application 2,229,077, for example, discloses a margarine containing 5-30% fat mixture containing hardened fat, 8-15% maltodextrin, optionally 0.5-3% modified starch, 1-2% whey protein concentrate, 0.4-0.6% gelatine. The process disclosed in the '077 application for making the margarine employs a step of homogenizing a heated blend at a pressure of at least 11,600 psi. Barta, U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,834, discloses a dairy-based non-cheese food product, which may contain from 5 to 40% fat. Non-fat milk solids comprise 15 to 50% of the product. The product may include a stabilizer, e.g. carboxymethylcellulose. Bodor, U.S. Pat. No. 4,103,037, discloses a low fat spread containing 25-65% fat, which includes carboxymethylcellulose, cheese curd, and gelatine.
Bodor et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,573 discloses spreads containing 20-90% fat, and containing a demineralized, deacidified milk.
With respect to extra low fat margarine-like spreads (less than 5% fat), Cain et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,956,193, disclose an edible plastic dispersion containing 1-10% fat, which includes maltodextrin and gelatin. The Examples of the Cain patent contain 9-12% maltodextrin. Small cheese particles may be included in the dispersion in order to obtain a cheese spread. A commonly assigned, copending application Ser. No. 733,500 discloses a concentrated casein containing dispersion of substantially aggregated casein, preferably obtained from yoghurt or quark, which dispersion has a dry matter content of 10-80 wt %, pH of 4.8-5.2, the dispersion being free from live, milk fermenting bacteria. The dispersion is said to be useful as fat replacer in low fat or zero fat spreads.
Although stable and spreadable extra very low fat spreads may be produced according to the above disclosures, it has been found, as part of the present invention, that spreads which even more closely approximate the taste of margarine are desirable and may be obtained. Particularly, extra very low fat spreads containing casein have more acidic taste than is typically associated with margarine and it is desirable to decrease this acidic taste.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a water-continuous spread which contains fat at a level not greater than 5% yet is margarine-like in body, texture, and organoleptic perception.
It is another object of the invention to provide a water-continuous spread which contains fat at a level not greater than 3.25%, or even at a level not greater than 0.25%, yet is margarine-like in body, texture, and organoleptic properties.
It is another object of the invention to provide an extra very low fat margarine-like spread which contains casein and yet contains less than 1.05%, or even less than 0.7%, ash.
It is still another object of the invention to provide an extra very low fat spread prepared from an electrodialysed milk or electrodialysed milk ingredient.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a process of preparing an extra very low fat water-continuous margarine-like spread.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a process of preparing an extra very low fat spread from a milk blend.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a process of preparing an extra very low fat spread from electrodialysed milk or electrodialysed dairy ingredient.
These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent from the detailed description and examples which follow.